Historically, the primary focus of Transfusion Medicine specialists has been the immune compatibility of blood types as well as the safe and appropriate use of blood products. As a consequence of the tremendous growth in the knowledge of blood cell biology, the functions and responsibilities of Transfusion Medicine specialists have expanded to now also include the translation of cell-based therapies. Transfusion Medicine specialists are valued medical and scientific consultants to their colleagues in other disciplines, including among others surgery, cardiology, anesthesiology, neonatology, hematology/oncology. There is a recognized need for scientific training of individuals to further advance knowledge and translation of hematopoietic cellular therapies. The overall goal of the Program in Transfusion Biology and Cellular Therapies is to prepare M.D., M.D./Ph.D. or Ph.D. postdoctoral fellows for biomedical research careers in Transfusion Biology and Cellular Therapy. The program supports 8 postdoctoral fellow slots per year. Funding is provided for 2-3 years after which the fellows are expected to assume positions in academia or in pharmaceutical industry. The program has a broad scope of research activities. The scientific disciplines involved include Immunobiology, Hematopoiesis, and Cellular Therapy. During the first three funding periods, we have developed a multi- disciplinary program utilizing the strong clinical and basic research environments at Harvard Medical School. The major Harvard Medical School affiliated institutions participating in the training program include Boston Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham & Women's Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Leslie Silberstein will continue as the Program Director, and Drs. Hongbo (Robert) Luo and Judy Lieberman will continue as Co-Directors. Our approach of including broad representation of faculty is a fundamental strength of our program and fits well with the broad nature of Transfusion Biology and Cellular Therapies and with our overall mission to facilitate cross-fertilization of clinical, basic and translational research talent. The outstanding pool of applicants and recruitment of faculty dedicated to the program has facilitated this goal. Our faculty are not only connected through this postdoctoral training program but also through other Harvard-wide, multi-institutional programs, e.g. Harvard Stem Cell Institute, the TransLab at Boston Children's Hospital and the Dana Farber-Harvard Cancer Center. This Training Program strives to provide a unique and rich training environment for academic transfusion biology and cellular therapies.

Public Health Relevance

Historically, the primary focus of Transfusion Medicine specialists has been the immune compatibility of blood types as well as the safe and appropriate use of blood products. As a consequence of the tremendous growth in the knowledge of blood cell biology, the functions and responsibilities of Transfusion Medicine specialists have expanded to now also include consultation in the translation of cell-based therapies. This postdoctoral training program is designed to meet a recognized need for scientific training of individuals to further advance knowledge and clinical use of hematopoietic cellular therapies to treat congenital and acquired diseases.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Institutional National Research Service Award (T32)
Project #
5T32HL066987-20
Application #
10109133
Study Section
NHLBI Institutional Training Mechanism Review Committee (NITM)
Program Officer
Mondoro, Traci
Project Start
2001-09-01
Project End
2022-01-31
Budget Start
2021-02-01
Budget End
2022-01-31
Support Year
20
Fiscal Year
2021
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Boston Children's Hospital
Department
Type
DUNS #
076593722
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
Witsch, Thilo; Martinod, Kimberly; Sorvillo, Nicoletta et al. (2018) Recombinant Human ADAMTS13 Treatment Improves Myocardial Remodeling and Functionality After Pressure Overload Injury in Mice. J Am Heart Assoc 7:
Kapp, Friedrich G; Perlin, Julie R; Hagedorn, Elliott J et al. (2018) Protection from UV light is an evolutionarily conserved feature of the haematopoietic niche. Nature 558:445-448
Kim, Ah Ram; Sankaran, Vijay G (2018) Thrombopoietin: tickling the HSC's fancy. EMBO Mol Med 10:10-12
Gavillet, Mathilde; Martinod, Kimberly; Renella, Raffaele et al. (2018) A key role for Rac and Pak signaling in neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation defines a new potential therapeutic target. Am J Hematol 93:269-276
Zitomersky, Naamah L; Demers, Melanie; Martinod, Kimberly et al. (2017) ADAMTS13 Deficiency Worsens Colitis and Exogenous ADAMTS13 Administration Decreases Colitis Severity in Mice. TH Open 1:e11-e23
Blaser, Bradley W; Moore, Jessica L; Hagedorn, Elliott J et al. (2017) CXCR1 remodels the vascular niche to promote hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell engraftment. J Exp Med 214:1011-1027
Hudak, Jason E; Alvarez, David; Skelly, Ashwin et al. (2017) Illuminating vital surface molecules of symbionts in health and disease. Nat Microbiol 2:17099
Dotiwala, Farokh; Sen Santara, Sumit; Binker-Cosen, Andres Ariel et al. (2017) Granzyme B Disrupts Central Metabolism and Protein Synthesis in Bacteria to Promote an Immune Cell Death Program. Cell 171:1125-1137.e11
Theodore, Lindsay N; Hagedorn, Elliott J; Cortes, Mauricio et al. (2017) Distinct Roles for Matrix Metalloproteinases 2 and 9 in Embryonic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Emergence, Migration, and Niche Colonization. Stem Cell Reports 8:1226-1241
Martinod, Kimberly; Witsch, Thilo; Erpenbeck, Luise et al. (2017) Peptidylarginine deiminase 4 promotes age-related organ fibrosis. J Exp Med 214:439-458

Showing the most recent 10 out of 87 publications